


Scrape

by ThatGoblin



Series: The Club [3]
Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Dom Link Neal, Dom Rhett McLaughlin, F/M, Gen, M/M, Rhett finally appears, Stalking, crazy ex, erin is tired, link hid a secret
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:28:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24285106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatGoblin/pseuds/ThatGoblin
Summary: Erin works to stay friends with Link despite her feelings, but when her ex pushes his way back into the picture, things get more complicated.
Relationships: Link Neal/Original Female Character(s), Rhett McLaughlin & Link Neal, Rhett McLaughlin/Link Neal
Series: The Club [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1740790
Comments: 4
Kudos: 9





	Scrape

I figured with enough distance and time, that maybe I wouldn’t feel so upset over Link. It didn’t help that I felt horrible for pushing him away when he did nothing wrong, but I didn’t want to make it an issue for him. Iliza helped me talk it out before I called him, deciding to make it purely platonic between us so there wasn'tany confusion. He didn’t seem upset and instead was making sure I was okay. It was sweet, but again, didn’t help. We agreed to keep things friendly and for the time being, keep it to texting so I could get my head on straight. In that time, since I was newly unemployed, I began to work on my art again. Iliza was my cheerleader, giving me words of praise and applause when she saw me working. Deciding to just create a portfolio at first, I began to work on that. 

Iliza went about her normal routine which gave me alone time. It wasn’t so bad and the first few days were fine. I got my room reorganized and even bought a few things to change it up as well as began to take a different route when running. Things felt more stable and even though it was without Link, I told myself it was for the best. 

Then Sebastian texted.

Seb was my boyfriend who had just left me for my best friend. I had forced him out of my mind that I had actually forgotten he existed. There were too many other things going on to worry about him.

‘Hey you.’

I stared at the message, taking my time to really work out what I wanted to say. If I wanted to say anything at all. Nearly 10 minutes later I texted back to him.

‘What?’ I messaged.

‘I’m sorry. I wanted to apologize for everything. For the cheating, the lying, all of it.’ He sent back.

‘Ok.’ I didn’t know what he wanted me to say. I wasn’t going to take him back and I wasn’t going to give him an in to manipulate me.

‘Ok? That’s it?’ He sent back. Staring at my phone, I nearly hucked it out the window, but then he called me.

“Erin, please-” He started, but I cut him off.

“No!” I snapped. “You messed up and you really hurt me. I can’t trust you or Holly again, ever! I don’t care about your apology or whatever else you have to say. Lose my number and don’t talk to me.”

“But I love you!” Sebastian cried. “I’ve been going to therapy and I’ve worked through a lot of my shit! I don’t want to lose you for good, okay? That’s why I texted.” He sighed and I could clearly see him running a hand through his long brown locks that I had loved so much. “I am so sorry for everything and I want to work through this. We’ve been together for so long there’s got to be a way to save us.”

“You gave that up when you cheated on me with my best friend, Seb. What do you want me to say? ‘Oh it’s okay Sebastian. I forgive you.’ Is that what you want? Because it’s not happening,” I said, my voice wobbling as I worked to stand my ground.

“I want to save what we can,” Sebastian said again. “I just- Can we still be friends? You remember that, right? We were best friends and that’s why we worked so well together. Please, Erin, just consider it. Nothing romantic has to happen, we can hang out and talk? Like we used to before we got together.” 

I held my breath and tried to count down from ten, but I was so angry and hurt. He wasn’t listening and after talking with Iliza about it after I finally opened up about it to her, she told me he was a liar and manipulator and control freak. It took her pointing it out to see it. 

“I don’t want to have anything to do with you? Okay?” I said, calming my voice. “Do not call me or text me or email me ever again. We are through and it is over. Goodbye Sebastian.” Hanging up, I took a deep breath and held it before slowly letting it out. A few more breaths and I was much calmer. Even when my phone rang again, I kept taking the deep breaths as I sent him to voicemail three times before turning off my phone. It was either that or I would be getting trapped in a cycle of him hounding me till I caved in. Deciding on a nap, I went to lay down in my bedroom. Just as my head hit the pillow there was a knocking on the front door. 

Sitting up, I frowned. Who could it be? Was it a neighbor? I got up to go to the living room, hearing the knocking only get louder before hearing the voice. 

“Erin, I know you’re in there. Let me in, please.” 

My jaw dropped. It was Sebastian! How did he know where I was and got there so quickly!? 

“Seb!? Go away! I don’t wanna talk to you!” I yelled through the door. I knew that if I let him in that I’d be making a mistake. He’d get under my skin and I’d go right back to him.

“Erin, just let me in so we can talk. I love you and I miss you and I’m sorry, okay? I’m begging here, baby,” he said, his tone full of sorrow and regret that had my heart breaking for him despite what I knew to be true. “Please, just talk to me. I’m not doing good without you. I made a mistake and I feel horrible about it. We can get through this, just give me a chance.”

“I’m not letting you in, Seb. Just go, please,” I said. I may not be the best at treating myself right, but I wasn’t stupid. I wasn’t going to give him another chance. While I was usually pretty passive, with Sebastian I couldn’t be. Even in the relationship he’d bully me into doing things his way. If I gave him an inch, he’d take the whole damn state. No matter how much it hurt and how much I ached to be the one to help him and hold him, I knew for a fact that he would just do it all over again.

“Erin, I am begging you. Please,” Sebastian pleaded, his voice cracking. 

“Sebastian, I’m not letting you in and I’m not giving you a second chance. Please, move on with your life because I can’t be a part of it anymore,” I said, feeling my own voice crack. 

“I can’t move on without you! Please, just let me in so we can talk! I just want to talk!” Sebastian snapped as he thumped the door. I jumped back, shaken by the sudden violence. He’d never hit me before or physically hurt me, but he didn’t seem to be the most stable right then and I was not taking a chance.

“Leave me alone, Seb. I mean it. I can’t be with you and I won’t be with you, so move on and leave,” I said, my voice getting sterner, more bold. 

“I’m not leaving till you let me in to talk to you!” He snarled, the handle turning furiously as he tried to muscle his way past the lock. 

“You can either leave now or I’m calling the cops!” I cried, scared that if I didn’t put my foot down that he would break down the door.

“Fine! But we’re going to talk at some point,” Sebastian snarled before his angry footsteps signaled that he was gone. I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding as I walked away from the door. When we broke up he’d been apathetic and disinterested, but now he was acting as if I’d been his world and leaving him was almost literally killing him. He’d been the same way when we dated, mood swings all over the place that I just learned to curve and work around. It was probably why I was so passive, but Iliza was helping me with that. She’d be proud of me for standing up for myself. 

Waiting a few minutes in the living room, I went back to my room to lay down to get my head on straight. Not bothering to turn my phone back on, which in hindsight was going to bite me in the ass, I curled up under the covers and focused on my breathing to get my racing heart rate down. I must have dozed off for a few hours because the sun was lower in the horizon, much lower than before. Grabbing my phone, I turned it back on to find AT LEAST 30 missed calls. All of them except for 3, those were from Iliza, were from Sebastian. A few before he came over and the rest just one right after the other from after he visited. I didn’t listen to them, just marking them as read along with the 50 text messages he sent. Saving them, I quickly blocked his number before bringing up Iliza’s messages.

She wanted to know what I wanted for dinner. . . Four hours ago. 

Oops.

The rest of her messages were just asking if I was okay or not paying attention and that went for the calls too. Except for the last one. 

“Since you seem to have turned your phone off or are dead in a closet, I’m stuck at a meeting and you’re worrying me. The neighbor across the hall, Mrs. Lima, called me to check on us because she said someone came by pounding on the door yelling at you. I know you don’t want me overreacting, but I think this is a time to overreact a bit. I’m calling Link to check on you.”

That had been just half an hour ago and before I could call her back, there was a knock at the door. A much calmer one this time, that had a much less threatening tone than before. Shit. I knew who it was, but that didn’t mean I wanted to see him. I did, but. . . It complicated things. Rushing to the door, I opened it to find Link mid text. 

“Hey,” I said, standing there. “Sorry about that. I laid down to take a nap and my phone died. But I’m okay now, so you can let Iliza know that. Or I will, so you can go now and not worry, kay? Thanks.” As I spoke at the speed of light, Link raised a brow. 

“Uh huh,” he said, looking at me. “Iliza said to check on you and make sure you’re okay. So that’s what I’m going to do.”

“Welp, here I am. I’m fine and dandy. I’ll give her a call in a second to let her know. Thanks for the concern, but I’m all good here,” I said, forcing a beaming smile as I kept the door mostly closed. I wasn’t really ready to be around Link by myself, but I didn’t want to be rude. 

“Yeah, no,” Link said with a shake of his head. “Open the door and let me in Erin.” His tone wasn’t upset, but it was firm. There was no room to argue with him, so I stepped aside to let him in.

“I’m not hiding anything,” I said, closing the door behind him and locking it. With Sebastian finding me out of the blue, I wasn’t taking chances with an unlocked door. 

“I didn’t say you were, but now you’ve got me curious,” he said, looking around before laying his eyes on me. “What’s going on? Iliza was riled up when she called, said you weren’t answering your phone and the lady across the hall said someone was pounding on the door screaming for ya.”

“It’s my ex,” I said with a sigh. “He’s got it in his head that we can get back together or at least be friends despite his bullshit he put me through. I didn’t open the door and threatened to call the cops if he didn’t leave. He started calling and texting me non-stop so I turned my phone off, but then he showed up and I forgot to turn it back on.”

“Are you okay?” Link asked with a frown, moving closer to me. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

“Other than scaring me a bit, he didn’t do anything,” I said with a sigh. “I mean, he got loud, but he’s never done anything violent towards me before and we didn’t break up because he was abusive. He just gets mood swings where he hyper focuses on things and then he’ll be done with them. Figured I was that thing for now.”

“Uh huh,” Link said with a nod. “You hear what you’re saying, right? You said yourself that he scared you earlier, that he yelled and banged on the door, but is never violent?”

“Okay, but. . . No, you’re right,” I said, shaking my head. “Still working on that. It was a habit of mine to make excuses for him, but I’m getting better at stopping it.”

“Erin, can I ask you something and you be honest with me?” Link asked, his frown softening a bit.

“Yeah, what is it?” I asked, looking up at him and feeling myself melt as those icy blue eyes stared me down.

“He really hasn’t hurt you, right? Physically?” Link asked. “Before in your relationship or today?”

“I promise, he’s not hurt me physically. He’s not thrown things or threatened to hurt me either. He’s slammed doors and yelled and walked out, but never laid a hand or object on me,” I said. “Iliza would know and Sebastian would be dead probably.”

“Oh I have no doubt of that,” he said with a small chuckle. “Thank you for being honest with me. I appreciate it and it puts my mind at ease a bit.”

“You’re welcome,” I said. There was a moment of silence, the awkwardness starting to creep in as we stood there just looking at each other. “I should call Iliza and let her know I’m okay and to look out for Sebastian. Have her tell the apartment front desk as well so he can’t get back in. Uh, thanks for coming by.” 

“It was no problem. Glad everything is okay,” Link said with a nod, a small smile coming over his face. It was the first time we’d seen each other in a while and with him being so agreeable with the distance and concern for me, I knew he didn’t feel the same way. He would have spoken up about it or assured me, but he didn’t. 

“Me too, uh. . . I guess I’ll see you around,” I said, moving to the door to stop getting lost in our gazes. That familiar ache was coming back and after Sebastian showing up I didn’t think I could actively hide my feelings from Link. “I’ll call if I need you to come by again or something,” I said, opening the door for him, using it as a barrier between us as he stepped into the hall. 

“Alright, don’t hesitate to text or call, even if it’s just to talk,” Link said with a wave before walking down the hall. I closed the door after him, locking it before moving to sink into the couch. Making sure to message Iliza that all was well and that Link had been by, I allowed myself to process the feelings of that day. 

I missed him. I missed Link. I wanted him to come back and hold me and lay with him as we talked or watched TV or even just laze around as I drew him. Sebastian coming around didn’t change that for me and I didn’t think anything would. Iliza was home shortly after Link left and I told her everything in detail. We had Sebastian banned from the building and no one would be able to come up to our apartment without checking in at the front desk. A list of people were made to let in without question and then added Sebastian to the list of people just not allowed on property. 

That seemed an easy fix to it. At least until I started getting calls from unknown numbers. I wouldn’t answer them, I’d let them go to voicemail because they were more than likely just Sebastian riding out his obsession. There was no reason for me to think it would go further than that. After all, I didn’t think he’d be dumb enough to stick around. The calls ended just as quickly as they began, which was what I had predicted, so Iliza was willing to let me go on my daily run alone. For the near week that things had been weird, she’d gone with me everywhere. She canceled meetings and jobs to make sure I was safe. I appreciated it, but I also felt bad.

I didn’t want her to stop living her life because of my stupid ex. It wasn’t fair to her. But then things died down and we went back to normal. 

On my usual route, I had my earphones to listen to music as I ran. Nothing was out of the ordinary so I thought about doing another lap around my neighborhood. It wouldn’t hurt and even with Iliza’s offer to spank me and make me call her Mommy, I decided to just run the extra pent up anxiety out. It was on my second lap that I let my guard down fully. I still watched out for others coming in and out of stores, but I wasn’t really paying attention to my surroundings.

That was how I managed to get tripped and go flying down hard on the sidewalk. Crying out, I felt the concrete bite into my skin as my phone went flying to hit the ground just as hard as I did. A few people stopped, but one man jumped over to help me. 

“Oh jeez, I’m so sorry,” he said as he helped me up. It took seconds for me to recognize it and realize it was Sebastian. “Erin? Oh shit, I’m sorry,” he said, going wide eyed as he kept his hands on me. 

“What? Uh,” I said, finding myself surprised enough that I couldn’t form words. 

“Are you okay? Crap, here, lemme help you sit down and we’ll get you bandaged up,” he said, helping me over to a chair as someone brought a first aid kit from the store we were in front of. He thanked the person who brought it as he opened the kit up. “I’m so, so sorry. My foot was sticking out and I just didn’t see-”

“What are you doing?” I asked, every alarm in my body telling me to just run through the pain of the scrapes and bruises. 

“I’m helping you clean up after accidentally tripping you,” he said with a soft chuckle. “Did you hit your head too?”

“No, what are you doing? I told you to leave me alone,” I said, moving to stand up. A firm hand on my thigh kept me sitting though as he looked up at me. The silly happenstance of the situation he’d created was gone and his stern look said everything. He’d planned this. Once I was alone, he’d planned to make sure that I had to stop and see him. “Seb, let go,” I said under my breath. I didn’t want to make a scene, which would have been safer, but embarrassment and self consciousness won over. 

“I told you, Erin, we were gonna talk,” he said, pressing an alcohol pad to my bloody knee. I hissed, jerking a bit at the sudden sharp pain of the pressure and the disinfectant. 

“Sebastian,” I said, feeling my heart nearly beating out of my chest. “Let go.” It took everything I had to stay calm as his fingers started to dig into my leg. 

“Erin!” We both looked up to see Link and another tall man, who I recognized as Rhett from Iliza’s pictures she’d shown me before everything even happened. They jogged over from across the street. “Oh my god, what happened, babe?” He asked, getting in my space to look over me, effectively blocking Sebastian from me. 

“It’s nothing, I just tripped and fell,” I said with a nervous laugh. “Uh, Sebastian here was helping me clean up a bit.”

“Dadgum, girl, you really ate it,” Link said with a wince as he looked me over. “Thanks for helping, man.” He turned to Sebastian and gave him a smile as he helped me up. “I was on my way over and stopped at a place across the street to grab some stuff for dinner tonight when I saw you.”

“Yeah, clumsy me,” I said, glancing at Sebastian to see how pissed he was. “Uh, thanks for helping Seb. Link and Rhett are gonna help me home.”

“You’re welcome,” Sebastian said as he stepped back, trying to save face and put on an innocent look. “Glad I could help.”

“Come on Darlin’,” Link said, picking me up bridal style. “Car’s just over there. Thanks again, man,” he said over his shoulder as Rhett stood between Sebastian and us. I wrapped my arms around Link’s neck, trying not to lose it right there on the street. On one hand it felt so good to be in Link’s arms again that it had me dizzy, but on the other I was terrified that Sebastian would do something else. It took less than a minute to get to Link’s car where he helped me into the backseat behind him as Rhett sat up front. We were quiet until we were driving away, when I finally felt like I could breath. 

“Fuck,” I said, holding back a sob. 

“Hold on, Kitten. We’ll get you home and patched up,” Link said, his voice much less carefree than it had been before. I nodded as he drove, wishing that I’d just skipped that day’s run. It would have kept me from literally running into Sebastian.

The drive was short, letting me calm down before getting home. Link carried me from the car to my place with Rhett right behind. He set me on the kitchen table easily before going to get the first aid kit. Iliza wasn’t home as she was off at a shoot for the day, which meant I was on my own when Rhett and Link left.

“Hi,” Rhett said, finally speaking as Link came back in. “I’m Rhett. Figured you’d want to know who the strange, tall man in your apartment was.”

“Hey,” I said, getting a small chuckle out. “You’re not as bad as the last strange, tall man that was here.”

“Seems like a garbage can would be better than that creep,” Link grumbled as he set the kit down to open it. Unlike Sebastian, he was careful with his touches, pulling back the instant that I hissed or winced. “Sorry, it’s gonna burn,” he said, looking up at me. “You took a hard fall.”

“Well, it wasn’t an accident,” I said with a soft sigh. “He knew my route and showed up. He fucking tripped me and then acted like it was a coincedence that we ran into each other and that he didn’t realize he tripped me.”

“Asshole,” Rhett said under his breath. “You look like you’ve got road rash. You must have been going at a pretty good pace to get that.”

“I was. Surprised I didn’t break a bone or bust my-” I paused as I felt panic flood me. “Fuck, my phone.” 

“Did you lose it? Maybe it bounced away when you fell,” Link offered as he spread anti-bacterial cream over my large scrapes. 

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “It landed just out of reach and he was on me before I could even realize what happened.” I felt like I could throw up from how much info was on my phone that Sebastian could use. Thankfully it was fingerprint protected as well as password, so I would just have to go on my laptop to have it deactivated then get a new one. It didn’t ease my worries at all. Sebastian wasn’t some genius hacker with phones either. He barely knew how to log into his bank account through the damn app. 

But that didn’t mean he was unable to talk to someone or look it up online. 

“Hey,” Link said, getting my attention as he bandaged my scraped shoulder. “It’ll be okay. We’ll figure this out.”

“No, Link, I don’t want you mixed up in this mess,” I said, groaning as I shook my head. “This is my problem and I’ll figure it out. I’ll go to the cops with Iliza and make a report.”

“Cops won’t do anything because he hasn’t done anything yet,” Rhett interjected. “Unless he physically harms you or threatens you, they can only make a report.”

“But he tripped me and looked at how bad it is,” I said, waving my good arm at the large scrapes on my shoulder and palms and elbows and legs. 

“Can’t prove it wasn’t an accident,” Rhett said with a sigh. “There’s not a lot in the way of the law to protect you here.” Frustrated tears clouded my vision as I tried to figure something out. There had to be something. Anything. “Even if you got a restraining order, he’d have to violate it in a major way to even get jail time and it wouldn’t be much at that. A few months at most.” 

“Really not helping here,” Link said to Rhett as he looked at my wrist that was swelling. I was left handed and my left wrist was turning into the size of baseball. “Can you move your fingers?” He asked. I wiggled them gingerly for him, earning a nod. “Rhett, in the freezer, get some frozen peas or ice packs,” he said as he began to wrap my wrist. 

“So much for maybe staying inside and making a portfolio,” I said, wincing as Link clipped the wrap into place.

“You were working on one?” Link asked, looking up at me as Rhett came back with the ice. 

“Yeah, just something to do while I figure out if I want to go back to a regular office job or try to show my work,” I said. “I’m not going to be doing much of anything now.”

Rhett handed Link the flexible ice pack, keeping a respectful distance from me. We didn’t know each other and we’d just met under not the best of circumstances. I was grateful for the space, letting me breathe even with Link mother henning me. “Good thing we were in the area,” he said with a soft sigh. “We were just shopping for some decorations for our new room we had built onto our house.”

“Rhett,” Link said, keeping his eyes pointed down. ‘Our new room?’ ‘Our house?’ Were Rhett and Link-

“What? You’re not ashamed of your boyfriend are you?” Rhett said with a soft chuckle. All that heartache from before that I thought I had managed to get through mostly came right back. 

“Rhett,” Link said, giving him a look that I couldn’t read. 

“Uh, you guys can stay if you want, I’m gonna go try and get my phone taken care of and message Iliza,” I said, keeping my head down to keep from bursting into tears. God, I really was an idiot. Climbing down from the table, I began to limp away as Link hissed something at Rhett. 

“Erin, wait,” Link said before coming after me. 

“No, it’s okay. I just. . . It’s been a bad day. I wanna be alone for a bit,” I said, not looking at him as I turned down the hallway towards the bedrooms. 

“Erin, please, let me explain-”

“No, Link, I am at my wits end right now. I cannot process anything else or I may just shut down,” I said, pausing at my door. Keeping my eyes on the handle, I took a few deep breaths before speaking again. “Please, just leave me alone right now. Today I am at my limit.”

“Can we talk, just for a moment,” Link asked softly.

“Red,” I said firmly. We were quiet a moment before Link turned and walked away. It wasn’t angry stomps or sulking shuffles, it was soft steps of him going back to the living room. Opening my door, I went right to my desk to start taking care of my phone and messaging Iliza. She said she’d hurry, but was glad Link and Rhett were still there with me. 

Erin: Did you know?

Iliza: Did I know what?

Erin: That Rhett was Link’s boyfriend and that they own a house together that they just finished adding on a room to?

She didn’t respond right away and I could only imagine what she was trying think of to say. 

Erin: Just forget it. They’re staying till you get home. I’m taking a nap. Call them if you need anything.

I felt the lowest I’d ever had even after the break up. My best friend kept something from me and the guy I had feelings for was with someone else and it seemed everyone knew but me. There was no catching a break for me it seemed. Closing my laptop, I laid back down in bed carefully to silently cry my stress and fears into my pillow. 

A small knock on my bedroom door woke me up. The sunlight was gone, replaced with street lights that shown in the night under my window. My whole body screamed at me to stretch or lay still or move, something to alleviate the throbbing ache all my joints and head held. Pushing up with my right hand, I managed to sit up as another soft knock was rapped on my door. 

“Erin, it’s Iliza. Can I come in?” 

I looked at my clock through bleary, sleep filled eyes to see it was almost 10PM. Fuck, I had slept hard.

“Come in,” I said, turning on my bedside lamp, but stayed sitting on my bed. 

“Hey you,” she said as she opened the door and walked in, closing the door behind her. “How’re you feeling?”

“Like someone ran me over with a truck,” I mumbled, looking up at her. “I didn’t realize I slept so long.”

“Yeah, I checked on you earlier, but you were passed out,” she said, taking a seat at my desk. “Look, about earlier-”

“Don’t,” I said softly. “I thought I was getting over it, but then when Rhett said it, I felt it all come crashing back. You should have told me from the beginning. I wouldn’t have led myself on or be half as hurt as I am now.”

“I know and I’m sorry,” Iliza said, folding her hands in her lap.

“I already lost one best friend who lied to me, I don’t want to lose another to more lies,” I said with a sniffle. 

“Well, that’s the only thing I was hiding and honestly, I wasn’t really thinking about it because they’re a polyamorous couple,” Iliza said. “There’s no cheating so long as there’s communication between them.”

“What? What’s that?” I asked, confused.

“Polyamoroury is people who have romantic relationships with more than one person at a time,” she said, wheeling the chair over to me. “So while Link and Rhett are in a committed relationship, if they find someone else that they click with and have romantic feelings for, then they talk to each other and either pursue the person or not.”

“So like swingers?” I asked, feeling my very limited experience in the world was showing. 

“Kinda, but not one night stands. It’s more about the relationship with people. They both have had boyfriends and girlfriends while still seeing each other and still working as Doms,” Iliza said. “It’s about trust and communication.” 

“I wonder what that’s like,” I said with a snort. Sebastian had been the opposite of that. Did that mean that Link could have feelings for me? A small voice asked this, but the rest of me quickly stomped it out. We were just friends and even then, he hadn’t been open about his relationship or his relationship type. So, maybe I was more of an acquaintance to him. Someone to help out because they needed it and couldn’t get their life together. 

“I see steam blowing out your ears,” Iliza said with a sigh. “You’re thinking hard about him, aren’t ya?”

“Is it that easy to tell?” I asked. 

“Little bit,” she said with a soft smile. “You should talk to him more. There’s a lot left unsaid between you two. It wasn’t like you spelt it out that you had feelings for him and wanted him to reciprocate them.”

“He probably gets that all the time from his clients. I already told him I needed space to rethink things but still wanted him as a friend because of Sebastian stuff and that still applies. Right now, especially, I don’t think I can handle navigating romance. It would be too much of a stress and it wouldn’t be fair to either of us,” I said.

“You know, most people aren’t as mature about things as you are,” Iliza said. “But I get it. It’s a lot to handle right this moment and I agree with you there. I will say though, that Doms don’t just sleep with whoever books them or really follows up with them outside of the club. Link doesn’t take new clients often. He hasn’t in the last six months. I’m not going to talk about who his clients are, but he doesn’t have many. Just a few regulars.”

“And me,” I said with a nod.

“And you,” she said. “So, I don’t want you continually thinking that us Doms are just fucking everyone and everything that’ll pay us. It’s not just about sex for any of us. We do it because it creates a relationship between us and our client or partner that we both need. A symbiotic relationship of give and take. It’s not given lightly or on a whim. I talked to Link for a couple of weeks before he agreed to take you on. Same for Rhett. They were both interested in taking on a new sub.”

“I’m sorry, both of them?” I asked, waking up completely at that. Both men wanted me as a sub?

“I mean, they kinda come as a pair most of the time, but I figured you wouldn’t handle it well with two Doms at first,” she said with a chuckle. “I was right too.”

“Okay Ms. Know-It-All,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I get it. I’m not a notch in his bedpost and he’s possibly available if I asked right out.”

“You should go hug him,” Iliza said with a nod. “He feels awful for not telling you either. I can’t say why because I don’t know why he didn’t come out with it, but he doesn’t want to lose you as a friend.”

“I’m not hugging him,” I said.

“You should. You know he gives very good hugs. So does Rhett. We should have a group hug. Oh! We should have a puppy pile!” She squealed and clapped her hands together. 

“Do… Do I want to know?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.

“It’s just us laying around and cuddling each other. Oxytocin will be boosted and I know your mood needs a dose of the feel goods,” she said as she stood up. “Come on.” Grabbing my good hand, she pulled me up to my feet. 

“I want a snack first,” I said, shuffling after her as she kept hold of my hand. “And some pain meds.”

“You’re in luck because Rhett loves feeding people,” Iliza said. 

“What?” I asked. “Is. . . Is that a thing?”

“For some people. He doesn’t like to do it till the person gets sick, but he does enjoy lounging around and feeding grapes and such. Kinda like those people in the old paintings of Cleopatra,” Iliza said as we got to the kitchen. The two men were on the couch watching a movie as Link was curled up to Rhett. It was cute really. I wasn’t mad at them for being together, just a bit hurt that it was hidden from me. Link was my friend and I didn’t want him to feel like he had to keep things from me or couldn’t trust me. 

“Who wants a fruit platter?” Iliza sang as she opened the fridge door to pull out a full tray of sliced fruit and dips along with a bottle of wine. 

“Oooo,” Rhett said, his head popping up from where he was resting it on top of Link’s. “Did someone say fruit platter?”

“Yes, with wine!” Iliza said with a grin as she pulled glasses from the cabinets for us. “Except for you, you get water,” she said, giving me a pointed look.

“Uh, why? I’m definitely of age and like wine,” I said, grabbing a chair with my good arm to drag to the other side of the kitchen so I could reach the medicine cabinet. 

“Because I don’t think wine and pain pills go good together,” she said, facing away from me before taking the fruit tray to the coffee table. 

“‘Because wine and pain pills don’t go good together,’” I mumbled under my breath in a mocking tone as I climbed onto the chair then the counter. 

“And what do you think you’re doing exactly, Kitten?” Link asked with a sigh as he stood below me, looking up as I dug around in the cabinet. 

“I’m getting pain pills,” I said, sticking my good hand all the way into the cabinet as I tried to pull the tub of supplies to the front. I forgot last time I was in there, I shoved the whole thing to the back on accident. Past me was a dick to present me. 

“Get down from there before you hurt yourself,” he said.

“I can do it. I’m fine,” I said, pulling the tub by my fingertips before I could grab it fully. 

“Erin Olivia! What do you think you’re doing!?” Iliza cried from across the room. 

“I’m busy being independent!” I yelled back. 

“Link, stop her before she ends up hurt. Again,” Iliza groaned. 

“Come on, get down from there,” Link said as I pulled the tub out with one hand. He took it from me to set to the side before wrapping an arm around my waist to pull me off the counter. “Ya raccoon.” I put my feet on the ground before digging into the tub for the bottle I wanted.

“Help, please,” I said, holding it out for Link to take. He chuckled softly as he opened the child proof bottle then handed it back. “Thank you.” I had discovered a long forgotten bottle of mine that was Tylenol 3 that I had gotten nearly six months ago from fracturing my pinky toe by stubbing it. Taking two of the pills, I handed the bottle back. Link closed it then put the bottle back as well as put the tub back, but on a much lower shelf. “Sorry about earlier too,” I said, looking up at him. “I had a lot happening at once it got overwhelming.”

“I’m sorry too,” Link said softly. “I shouldn’t have hid Rhett from you.” 

“Friends?” I asked, holding out my arms for a hug.

“Friends,” he said, pulling me close, nuzzling against the top of my head. 

“Awww!” Iliza and Rhett cooed from the living room. I ignored them though. Iliza was right, Link did give good hugs.

**Author's Note:**

> I can neither confirm nor deny that Sebastian Stan is Erin's ex. BUT if you go check out my tumblr at knutuporshutup you might find a moodboard I made for this specific fic that may clear it up. MAYBE.


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